I
am a Canadian artist residing
in Victoria. My work focuses
on peace. War fascinates and
saddens me because, as history
has shown us, it is easy to make
a ghost. My art helps me find an-
swers, or at least cope with some
of the disturbing realities of the
modern day.
My trips into Baghdad in
support of peace caused enor-
mous stress on my family and
me. It took a few years before I
was able to come to terms with
that whole experience and figure
out how to proceed as an artist. I
channeled my energy into creat-
ing natural art installations that
evoked a sense of peace in myself
and others. I set up my first
project in a large hayfield, using
a simple mother and child motif;
afterwards, a local farmer baled
the hay I had used and stored it
away for his horses. I later did
two similar, small-scale works,one in Scotland and the other
in Baghdad. I wanted to create
something more permanent,
however, and so I created the
“Peace Sanctuary” image up in
Hudson’s Hope. It can’t be seen
very well on the ground these
days, because the locals on their
Quads just loved riding over the
mounds. I don’t mind that at all,
because I see my work as being
like a Buddha board, where you
paint on silk with water and
the artwork evaporates. The
sanctuary image still shows up
well from the air and on Google
maps though.
For more than 50 years now,
I’ve felt blessed to be able to
express myself through my art.
In the fall of 2013, I was encour-
aged to spearhead the creation
of a Peace Garden art project at
Woodwynn Farms in Central
Saanich, B.C. After everything
we had been through, it wassuch a gift to work closely with
my wife, Elizabeth Wellburn, a
talented artist in her own right,
and also to collaborate with the
farms’ director to create a ther-
apeutic space where people can
enjoy time to themselves with
nature and crops. It was and still
is a labour of love.
When visiting the Woodwynn
Peace Garden, you enter through
a hand-carved door, then follow a
winding path past kiwi trees, ber-
ry bushes and sculptures. Further
along, the trail leads into a quiet
stretch called Apple Tree Lane.
When you reach a trellis adorned
with driftwood fish hanging
above, you are almost at the en-
trance to the Garden’s labyrinth,
which is packed with edible sage
and surrounded by a thick outer
ring of purple lavender. You can’t
get lost in this labyrinth, but you
might find some inner peace by
simply following the path. ■Woodwynn
Peace Garden
An earthen work and a labour of love
by Deryk Houston, VictoriaLeft: The Peace Garden
covers a full acre and features
sculptures, a walking path
and a labyrinth surrounded
by edible sage and lavender.
Below: Deryk on a farm tractor.17